Harris Supports Renaming Columbus Day, But Booker Won’t Commit

The California Democrats’ Columbus Day position was one that Cory Booker was unwilling to make a day earlier in New Hampshire.

By NTK Staff | 02.19.2019 @12:22pm

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told a New Hampshire audience on Monday that she would push for the federal government to change the name of Columbus Day to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” The move has become something of a rallying cry for far-left liberals who believe the day should celebrate the natives in American rather than the conquerors.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who claimed Native American ancestry but whose DNA test debacle showed she had far less native DNA than previously thought, proclaimed her support for the name change last October.

That follows moves by cities like New York and Los Angeles, which either added “historical markers” to note the atrocities Columbus committed or covered up the statues altogether. One Columbus statue in New York was beheaded in 2017.

But Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), when asked the same question a day earlier in New Hampshire, wouldn’t commit to renaming the holiday.

“I’d like to talk more about why you think it’s important on a federal level,” Booker told voters. “My commitment to you and indigenous peoples is to tell the truth, to work to address the issues, and to find a way to have real recognition and healing.”

During the same town hall, Harris also committed to passing a “new Voting Rights Act,” which would include making Election Day a federal holiday in the U.S. She also pledged support for same-day voter registration.